Sweet Prince Rutherford
by vesaldi
Summary: After an exhausting day meeting with diplomats and dignitaries from all across Southern Thedas, Lorelei Lavellan returned to her chambers for some much-needed rest. (One-shot. Minor Trespasser DLC spoilers.)


The first day at the Winter Palace had been exhausting, and the Exalted Council hadn't even begun yet. Lorelei had been dragged to and fro by a variety of diplomats and dignitaries from every nation in Southern Thedas, even a few she'd never heard of. The few looks she had managed to catch from Josephine were those of tired exasperation. Tensions ran high, and the Inquisition was at the center of it all.

As the sun began to set on the old elven city of Halamshiral, Lorelei retreated back to the relative safety of the guest wing. She knew Cullen would be waiting for her, and that would make all the day's challenges worth the struggle.

She pulled the key to their quarters out of her pocket. It was an overly ornate thing, a human fascination she would never grow accustomed to. It was just a key, after all. Why all the fuss over the key to a door that had no meaning? With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the key into the lock and turned it, satisfied to hear the familiar click of the lock opening.

Lorelei pushed open the door with a happy sigh, immediately feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she crossed the threshold into the room, lazily pushing the door shut behind her. "Cullen?" she called out into the inordinately spacious guest apartment.

"Back here," his reply came from deep within their chambers. The bedroom, she assumed. It wasn't terribly late in the evening, but she knew that he had likely been accosted by every sort of emissary and noble just as she had. There were still some nobles who insisted on pursuing his hand for their eligible daughters. Apparently only _some_ news spread quickly.

Lorelei quickly kicked off her boots, letting them lay in the middle of the room as she slowly made her way toward the bedroom. Her gloves met much the same fate as her boots. The bedroom door was cracked, and she pushed it open with her shoulder as she began to fuss with the ever-mystifying buttons of her dress uniform. She stopped abruptly as she looked up.

"Is th-" she stuttered as she stared at the bed. "Is that a mabari?"

Cullen looked up at her, his face flat as though she had asked after the weather. "Yes."

Lorelei blinked once. "Why is there a mabari warhound in our bed?"

He looked down at the dog, who had its head resting on his belly. That lopsided smile of his finally began to spread across his face. " _You_ try to get him off."

"Cullen, _why do you have a dog?_ "

"He was abandoned," Cullen told her with a shrug. "I couldn't very well leave him here."

"Cullen," Lorelei chided, her arms now crossed and her dress uniform left half unbuttoned.

"Come now, he'll be a great asset to the Inquisition," Cullen insisted. "I can use him to train the recruits."

"What exactly will you use this dog to train them to do?" she asked with a hint of a smile. "To combat drool demons?"

It took Cullen a moment to follow Lorelei's gaze. The dog seemed only slightly perturbed at the man's efforts to move his head away from the growing puddle of saliva seeping into the bedsheets. "Blast it, Dog. You're supposed to be making a good first impression!"

The dog whined in response before closing its eyes and settling in to a more comfortable position.

"Cullen, I am not sleeping with a dog," Lorelei insisted, arching an eyebrow and looking at him expectantly.

"Fine," he told her with a sigh, shifting his weight to slide out from beneath the hulking warhound. A low growl stopped him cold. With a nervous laugh, he looked back up at Lorelei. "Perhaps just for tonight? I'll see that he stays in the main chamber tomorrow."

With a roll of her eyes and a very intentional sigh, Lorelei returned to unbuttoning her uniform. After changing into her night clothes, Lorelei surveyed the battlefield. The bed was large, but the warhound had taken up a substantial portion of her side. It seemed as though the dog would remain between the two of them for the night, assuming it didn't push her to the floor before morning.

Lorelei took hold of the bedsheets, lifting them slightly the gauge the dog's reaction. It had none, save for a soft sigh as she slipped beneath the covers. "This was not what I had in mind for tonight," she complained, giving Cullen an annoyed look as she positioned her body around the much larger mabari.

Cullen seemed to wince. "I couldn't just leave him," he explained, glancing down at the now snoring dog.

"Yes, I know," she sighed. "You Fereldans have to stick together."

Before Cullen could respond, the dog yawned and stretched. Lorelei began to protest but before she could utter a word the dog rolled over, nearly knocking the wind from her as the dog's massive head landed on her chest.

"Maker's breath, are you alright?" Cullen asked, unsuccessfully trying to pry the dog's head off of her.

"Dirthara-ma," Lorelei hissed through her teeth. She reached down to take the mabari's head between her hands, smiling slightly as it lazily opened its eyes. "What is its name?"

"Dog," Cullen replied. Lorelei turned to look at him. "What?"

"You named this poor creature 'Dog'?" she asked. She sighed before returning her attention to the mabari. "Sweet creature, would you do me a kindness and sleep at the foot of the bed tonight?"

With a soft grunt, the mabari carefully got to its feet and plodded off toward the end of the bed, dropping to the mattress in a heap. Lorelei smiled as Cullen looked on in amazement.

"So the stories were true," Cullen mused. "I'd heard about mabari intelligence, but I've not had the chance to see it myself."

"Sometimes you just have to ask nicely," Lorelei replied with a smirk, taking the opportunity to snuggle up next to him. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to get as much sleep as possible before the Exalted Council begins in the morning."

"As you wish, dear," Cullen replied, gently kissing the top of her head.

Lorelei closed her eyes and sighed happily as she listened to the steady beating of Cullen's heart. "Tomorrow we will discuss your poor choice of name for this unfortunate dog."

Cullen chuckled lightly in response as the two drifted off to sleep, their new mabari warhound snoring softly at their feet.


End file.
